Cat, Hat. In French Chat, Chapeau

In Spanish, an el gato in a sombrero.

My favorite picture of KickyBear and JumpyBear

Joe's still busy so I'm doing a quick turn at entertaining you. Our little boys have almost grown out of that "looking a bit like aliens" stage. They clearly have our discriminating taste in music....eschewing "Old MacDonald" and "Bingo" for "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" and "The Rain Song". Atta boys! Make yer Mom proud. I saw little cowboy guitars for sale at HomeGoods 2 days ago and fought the urge to buy them knowing 1) it's a wee bit early for that and 2) Joe would say "arg....those aren't Fenders (or Gibsons or Peavey's or geetar du jour)".

- Kathy, out

Family Resemblances

No need to spell out. If you know Joe or you know me then you can spot genetics at work.


Kevin, far left, and his thumb, farthest left.












Joe and Jason share a quality moment.







Happy Memorial Day.
A huge thank you to all Veterans and those currently serving.

-Kathy

MOT musings

Joe's been a busy guy this week so here are some ramblings/musings from a MOT (mom of twins) to tide you over.

Chuh chuh chuh chuh changes. People who say "having a baby won't change us" might not really get the point of having a baby. Everything changes. Unless they were already getting up every 2 hours each night, dressing their pets in diapers and small outfits, and wearing clothing with food stains and bodily fluids.

Love's blindspot. We've all experienced love's blindspot when it comes to a partner/spouse but the size of the parental blindspot really dwarfs that. It seems that other people's babies (the people in restaurants and at the mall, not family and friends) look like aliens. But my kids, my kids are beeyootiful. Okay, realistically, I know they look like aliens to those who aren't family/friends but still....my kids are pretty darn cute. I think that even Whitney Strieber would agree.

Things we do for love. Historically, I'm a night person and not an early bird. THAT changed on Feb 8th. Not saying I'm not up all night (no longer a choice but just a fact) but I'm also up before Sol, the proverbial early worm, and the bunny who ate my daffodils (bad bunny).

Super Babies. Babies might be super smart at recognizing their Mom by smell and family members by sound....but how on earth can they stand the taste of formula? eww eww eww

Well, that's all I have for now.

- Kathy

Happy Mother's Day

Being Mother's day, I'm guest blogging.

Today has been filled with all the things that make a day special. I got a nap and more importantly I napped for an amount of time that was of my choosing and not dictated by a person under 15 lbs. I got to do a bit of gardening, always a nice treat. The rest of the day was spent with the boys. We played, read and made lots of nice memories. A bath followed up by bottles, a good night book and a bit of Mary Poppins then off to bed. All in all, a great first Mother's Day. Thanks to my Joe for enabling me to have some me-time today.

Today was my Grandfather's birthday, so please raise a glass in his memory. Pop is greatly missed. He would've gotten a kick out of the wee Doherty boys and I know they would've loved him. Hopefully he's watching from on high, having a laugh and keeping an eye on Jason and Kevin.

The past week has a been a busy one. Our excellent friend, Andrea Boyer came by on Sunday to meet the little princes. It was great to see her and to catch up. The boys took to her immediately and much fun was had. On Wednesday, another excellent friend, Amy Bennett lunched with myself and the wee Dohertys...always a treat. On Thursday, Betsy Bellar, terrific boss and great friend, swung by for lunch and a visit. It was fun to get the office lowdown and for Betsy to see how much the boys had changed since her last visit. The boys, having been fed, were asleep and therefore, very well behaved.

On Friday, our dear family friend, Beve Campbell paid a visit for a lovely meet and greet. The boys were their sweet selves and Kevin napped in the pack-n-play obviously trying to impress dear Beve with his manners as that's something he won't do for me anymore. Many thanks to Beve for the lovely Mother's Day gift and the adorable outfits for the boys. A huge Mucho Gracias to Beve's daughter, Laura, who has so generously supplied our Aquarians with so many lovely outfits. We should also thank Drew, Laura's son, for sharing his terrific fashion sense and wardrobe with our boys. I look forward to having Laura and Drew meet Jason and Kevin.

The social whirlwind continued Saturday with a visit from Joe's great longtime friends, the Allens. Emmy, Susan and Bruce were so very kind to come out our way. They gifted the boys with cute sports rattles, keys and a chewy ring as well as super yummy muffins from the Gingerbread Construction Co. (Those were for us! MMM MMM gooood) Thank you, we had a lovely time.

Cindi and Molly, Joe's sister and niece, stopped over in the evening and were super helpful as they played with and fed the boys while we interviewed a potential nanny. Thanks to Molly and Cindi for their excellent babysitting skills. It's always great to see you.

But what about the boys you say....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN AND JASON!

On May 8th the boys were 3 months old.

Jason, aka Blondie Bear, Jumpy Bear and Snugglebug, is now 23" long and weighs 13 lbs. Jason has taken to snuggling under my chin. He rubs his face on my shirt and gradually works his way under my chin where he nestles in and falls sound asleep. He snores, cute little baby snores. That's my Jason.

Kevin, aka Brownie Bear, Kicky Bear and Cuddlebug, is 22 1/2" long and weighs 12.8 lbs. Kevin has found his thumb and favors it over his pacifier. This is not only adorable but a huge relief. No more lost pacifiers. Yay Kevin!

Thought this was kind of funny and shows the progress that has been made. On the left is Kevin, 1 month old, just about as big as Joe's sock and the FIOS remote. On the right is Kevin, today, 3 months old.

It seems like they've always been a part of our lives and yet it was just 3 months ago that they were teeny tiny bundles of joy wrapped in blankets and wires in the NICU.

You've come a long way babies.

I love you.

Happy Mother's Day all.

Call your Mother.

Thank her.

Kathy, out.

Cinco de Mayo or, preferably, Miracle Whip

What a crappy weekend weather-wise (points for alliteration?). We didn't get out of the house with the boyz this weekend, but we made do! We're currently working on getting the boyz on a feeding schedule that will get them to sleep through the night. They're eating pretty well, anywhere from 27-32 oz a day. The theory is if we can get their day's feedings in by bedtime, then they will not be hungry throughout the night. Well, it's kinda working: they awoke at 2:30, 4:30 and 6:30am, but weren't clamoring for their bottles. A pacifier seems to put them right back to sleep. Of course, they were up at those times...so we're halfway there.

On Saturday I was putting Jason down in his crib for an afternoon nap after his lunch, and he laughed! I'm not putting all that much importance on it, but it was an actual laugh. HA HA HAAAHA HAAA! I'm not sure what he thought was funny. I think he saw my hand resting on the side of the crib and hilarity ensued. I was so shocked...I mean, they're really just starting to get the hang of smiling.

Needless to say, the crap week I'd been having at work was suddenly wiped from my memory.

Later on Saturday I was able to start cleaning out the basement. Mostly that consisted of recycling about two thousand cardboard boxes, returning empties to get 5 cents a bottle, and tossing bits of trash that's accumulated because, well, I live there. Can't have a Joe Home without sh*t everywhere.

Anyway, as I was bringing boxes out of the bulkhead, I slipped on the wet grass (it was raining). I didn't fall, but I probably should have. I ended up pulling muscles on my right side and back. You know the kind of muscle pull that makes it difficult to breath without sobbing like a wussbag? Yep...that's the one. I will say that Advil is a wonderful product and I will happily endorse their company. So, I brought the boxes to recycle, bottles were returned for a profit and I went in and did some grocery shopping. But that was pretty much the end of my constructive day.

It's a beautiful spring day here in New England today, so Kathy's going to go for a walk with Kevin & Jason. We're still interviewing nannies. Kathy's mom Kay is returning on May 18th, just in time to be the lifesaver that she is and watch the kiddies when Kath returns to work on May 19th. Kay has already had so much experience with our children that I feel extremely comfortable with her. She's also a very good judge of character so she can help us pick someone. In the meantime, Kevin & Jason will be in good hands.

Today is my brother-in-law Barry's birthday, so happy birthday to you, my brother! I hope you have a good one, and hope you can pop by for a visit soon.

More later,
Joe